In Sickness or in Health...
by Nanori The Authoress
Summary: Astro is sick, and Charmy doesn't believe him until it's too late...


Disclaimer: I don't own DDR or the characters, blah, blah, blah… That sucks! By the way… Charmy's full name is Charmy Anderson, and Astro's real name is Kouru Mackenzie… Interesting, ne? Now, on with the fic!  
  
In Sickness or in Health  
  
Chapter One  
  
Astro was pleading with his dancing partner (and roommate) about going to a women's health expo.  
  
"Please, Charmy! I really don't wanna go! It's girl stuff! And I feel sick! I'm not kidding!"  
  
Charmy shook her head.  
  
"No, I really don't believe you're sick. You're just too chicken to see a bunch of girls talkin' about…" she paused to let Astro blush about what she was going to say next. "Breast cancer!"  
  
Astro groaned, betraying the laughter he was dying to let out. Charmy grabbed his arm, and dragged him to the car. Charmy revved up the engine, then started laughing.  
  
"I can't believe it was that easy to get you to come! All I had to do was drag you out here! Hee hee hee!"  
  
Astro's stomach lurched, but he shrugged it off as nervousness about the expo.  
  
"Why did she do this to me? What did I do? Oh well…"  
  
***  
  
15 minutes later…  
  
***  
  
When they got to the expo, Astro didn't feel too good, but he still dismissed it as nervousness. Charmy saw a familiar face. Or rather, two familiar faces.  
  
"Hi, Emi! Hi, Rage!"  
  
Astro walked over to Rage and beckoned the girls to do what they wanted.  
  
"So, Emi drag you here, too?"  
  
Rage grinned.  
  
"Kinda, but I… enjoy some of the exhibits…"  
  
Astro sweatdropped.  
  
"Hentai sicko…"  
  
"That would be me, right?"  
  
Astro nodded.  
  
"Duh."  
  
"Well, I'm going to observe the exhibits." Rage looked at Astro. "You don't look too good… you should sit down or something. See ya later."  
  
Astro walked over towards where Charmy and Emi were.  
  
"Charmy, can we go home now? I feel really sick…"  
  
Charmy, annoyed, stomped over to Astro.  
  
"I can't believe this! You already tried that excuse, and it didn't…"  
  
Astro clapped a hand over his mouth, ran to the nearest trashcan, and threw up. Charmy blanched.  
  
"Oh… my… God… I thought you were faking because you didn't want to go and…I… I… Astro, I'm so sorry…"  
  
Astro slowly stood up, walked over to Charmy, and collapsed into her arms. Charmy heard his voice faintly.  
  
"It's ok…"  
  
Charmy called Emi over.  
  
"Emi, go get Rage, he can carry him out to the car. We're going home."  
  
Emi ran off, and returned with Rage. He gently picked Astro up, and walked towards the exit, followed by Emi and Charmy, who was crying.  
  
They got to the car, and Rage put him in the back seat. Charmy got in, started up the car, thanked Rage and Emi, and drove off.  
  
Astro fell asleep, and Charmy talked to herself the rest of the way home.  
  
"Charmy, you're such a dirtbag, an idiot, stupid, stupid, stupid! How could I do that to Astro? He hardly lies, so why did I make him come? Why didn't I believe him? Stupid, stupid Charmy! Aaaagh!"  
  
***  
  
15 minutes later…  
  
***  
  
1 When they got home, Charmy picked up the still asleep Astro and carried him up to his bed. She sat by his side, and took off his visor. She ran her hand through his short dark blonde hair. Astro smiled in his sleep.  
  
2 "Hi, Charmy…" he murmured.  
  
3 Charmy grinned. He was so innocent. When he was asleep, anyways. She kissed the top of his head, then laid down beside him and fell asleep. Astro opened his eye a sliver and smiled, then draped his hand over her back.  
  
4  
  
5 ***  
  
Next Morning…  
  
***  
  
Charmy woke up to find that Astro wasn't in the bed. She heard the toilet flush, and Astro walked out of the bathroom.  
  
"You ok?" Charmy asked.  
  
Astro shook his head.  
  
"Three up threw times last night… didn't sleep much, tired… ca' I go to sleep?"  
  
Charmy didn't quite understand what he said exactly, but she knew he was tired. She got out of bed, and led him over, and let him go to sleep. She decided to keep an eye on him, in case anything happened.  
  
***  
  
2 hours later…  
  
***  
  
6 "Astro… Astro?"  
  
Chapter Two  
  
7 "Astro… Astro?"  
  
Charmy nudged his shoulder. He didn't stir.  
  
"Astro? Are you ok?"  
  
She put a hand on his chest. She panicked when she couldn't feel anything, but she composed herself and concentrated. She was rewarded with a slight movement. Good. At least he was still breathing. But still, she couldn't help feeling that something wasn't right. She picked up the phone and dialed the hospital.  
  
"Hello, this is Providence Hospital, how may I help you?"  
  
"My roommate is really, really, sick, and… I don't know what to do!" Charmy started to cry as she talked to the hospital employee.  
  
"Ok, calm down, tell me your name, and why you think your roommate is sick."  
  
Charmy composed herself and answered.  
  
"My name is Charmy, and Astro, my roommate, threw up a lot during the night, he's really tired all the time, sometimes when he talks, it's all messed up, he won't respond when I try to wake him up, and he's barely breathing!"  
  
"Alright, you can bring him in and we'll figure out what's wrong with him."  
  
"Thank you…" she whispered.  
  
She put down the phone and went upstairs to get Astro. She went in their room and placed her hand on his chest. She couldn't feel him breathing. Her eyes widened, and she ran to the phone, and dialed the hospital.  
  
"Hello, this is Providence Hospital, how may I help you?"  
  
"This is Charmy again. Astro just stopped breathing! Please send an ambulance! The address is 34465 Cedar Loop, but please hurry!"  
  
"We're sending one right now. Keep him comfortable while you wait. Goodbye."  
  
Charmy slammed down the phone and ran upstairs to get Astro. She pulled his limp form out of bed and carried him downstairs. She stroked his forehead, but pulled her hand away. His forehead was burning with fever.  
  
"Oh, Astro… Please don't die…"  
  
She heard a siren. The ambulance was here, she thought. Charmy carried him over to the door. The paramedics opened the door and took him from her arms and loaded him on a stretcher. Charmy followed them out the door and into the ambulance. She watched them hook him up to an IV and an oxygen tube.  
  
***  
  
3 minutes later…  
  
***  
  
They got to the hospital in what must have been record time. The paramedics took him inside and laid him down on a hospital bed for a doctor to examine him on. Charmy waited patiently for the doctor to finish examining him. The doctor finished and turned to her. She waited for him to tell her what was wrong with Astro.  
  
"Well, miss, it isn't good. He has the flu and the stomach flu, and he has it very badly. He… may not survive…" The doctor turned around and walked away. All of the emotions tumbling around in Charmy's soul boiled over and she broke down crying on his bed.  
  
"Charmy…" Her head shot up from the bed. She thought she heard something, but she was probably mistaken…  
  
"Please don't cry…" She realized it was Astro.  
  
"Astro, you're awake… How do you feel?"  
  
"Remarkably well, considering that I just stopped breathing for a while… These meds that they gave me really make me feel tired…" He drifted off to sleep. Charmy smiled, and tentatively kissed him on the lips. Astro smiled in his sleep.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Charmy woke up in a hospital chair next to Astro's bed. She noticed that his face was much paler then it was last night. Probably had to get more things poked at and in him, poor guy… ,she thought. He hates needles. She looked at the heart monitor connected to his chest. It seemed fine… Charmy leaned her head on the bed rail and fell asleep.  
  
***  
  
2 hours later…  
  
***  
  
Charmy was rudely awakened by a long beeping sound. She looked up at the heart monitor. It registered nothing. Charmy slammed her fist furiously on the button that summoned the nurse. The nurse ran in and looked at the heart monitor. She blanched and started performing CPR. Nothing. She did it again. Still nothing. She turned her head down and didn't look at Charmy. The nurse ran out, and ran back in, followed by about five doctors. One of them ushered Charmy out as they started trying frantically to get Astro's heart beating again. Charmy sat nervously in the waiting room while the doctors worked.  
  
***  
  
30 minutes later…  
  
***  
  
One of the doctors came out to the waiting room, not looking directly in Charmy's eyes.  
  
"Miss, I'm afraid he's dead… I'm sorry. We did all we could do."  
  
Charmy was in shock.  
  
"No… May I see him?" she choked out through tears.  
  
The doctor gestured towards the door, indicating she could. Charmy walked into Astro's room. She saw his body on the table and walked over to it. For the second, and last time, Charmy broke down crying on his bed.  
  
"No… Astro, why did you leave me? I never got to tell you so many things… Like that I love you… " She hugged his limp form sadly.  
  
"I didn't leave you…"  
  
Charmy's head shot up from the bed.  
  
"Astro? You're supposed to be…"  
  
"Dead, I know. How can I leave you when there is so much between us? Because…" Slightly embarrassed, he paused. "I… I love you too, Charmy…" Charmy started to cry, but this time it was tears of joy. She flung her arms around Astro, who was now sitting up, and kissed him full on the lips, slightly startling him, but he returned the favor. A little while after the kiss, Charmy asked Astro,  
  
"Hey, do you think you can walk?"  
  
"Yeah, I feel fine…"  
  
"Do you think it would freak out the doctors if you just walked by and said "Hi!""  
  
Astro laughed.  
  
"Sounds hysterical! I'll do it!" Charmy lowered the rail on his bed so he could get out. He hopped down, grabbed the pole his IV was connected to, and walked out to the waiting room. One of the doctors was filling out a form of something or other. Astro walked up to him tapped him on the shoulder and said,  
  
"Hi!" The doctor almost fainted. Charmy was in hysterics. She turned to the doctor.  
  
"He seems fine to me! Can we go home?" The flustered doctor ran a basic check up on Astro, which he passed with flying colors.  
  
"Well… There's no reason you can't… I guess you can go home!"  
  
The doctor removed the IV from his arm, and no sooner had he done it the two had ran out the door. Charmy led Astro to the car, then yanked the door open and shoved him across the seat playfully. Charmy revved up the engine and practically flew back home. When they got back, before Astro had even unbuckled his seatbelt, Charmy was on the phone, talking to Emi.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Hi, Emi, this is Charmy! We just got back from the hospital."  
  
"The hospital? Was Astro really that sick?"  
  
"Yeah. Bring Rage over, and I'll tell you all about it…"  
  
7.1 Epilogue  
  
Charmy laid in bed, sick with the flu. Astro was sitting by her side faithfully, stroking her forehead.  
  
"Hey, Charmy?"  
  
Charmy didn't really want to talk, but she did.  
  
"What?"  
  
Astro grinned.  
  
"Did you ever have that feeling of deja vu?" 


End file.
